1958 Bristol 406S – Classified of the Week
January 16, 2024
Who doesn’t love a limited edition? Whether it be a car, a watch or even a certain type of burger at your local takeaway that’s only available for a couple of weeks, that exclusivity and feeling of privilege is an intoxicating one. The whole ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ marketing shtick is a tried and tested method of persuasion, too, now more than ever with the advent of social media and the fear of missing out phenomenon. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have an incredibly rare opportunity for you here at Car & Classic with this 1958 Bristol 406S.
If we told you there were only 170-odd Bristol 406 models ever made you’d agree it was a rare car, right? The FOMO back in the late 1950s when the 406 was produced between ’58 and ’61 would have been real. Well, of those 170-ish this particular car represents one of just two original Bristol 406S short chassis versions. There was this car, the prototype known as 406 SP1 and then the later SP2 that featured a body by renowned Italian coachbuilder Zagato commissioned by Bristol Cars board of directors member and the brand’s largest dealer Tony Crook as a precursor to six additional standard length Zagato-bodied 406 models.
Initially Zagato was tasked with producing bodies for a total of ten cars for Bristol but in the end only six were produced due to lack of interest, which is madness now considering how sought after these cars are, and that’s not including the aforementioned SP1 and SP2 cars, making these two original short chassis versions exceptionally exclusive.
The original Bristol 406, back when the firm was known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company, was a luxury model acclaimed for the quality of its engineering. Here was a two-door saloon that featured disc brakes all round as well as a Watt’s linkage rear suspension setup – the first production car to do so. Equipped with a smooth and torquey six-cylinder engine it could be argued that the 406 is the progenitor of the modern super saloon but Bristol had the idea of creating a shorter, faster, two-seater version and hence the SP1 prototype was born.
The 406 SP1’s unique body was designed by Bristol’s chief designer Dudley Hobbs over the course of two years between ’56 and ’57 with help from his assistant designer Dennis Sevier. Extending the earlier 404 body to fit the slightly longer 406S Hobbs and Sevier took styling cues from that earlier model, and maybe a touch of inspo from the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, and crafted a one-off prototype.
Unfortunately the car wasn’t put into production. Not only was it a classic case of wrong time, wrong place from a market perspective but due to the restructuring of the Bristol company itself at the time the prospect of building the car in any significant numbers was quashed, hence this incredibly unique slice of Bristol history.
Despite languishing in production purgatory, 406 SP1 was registered for the road in ’58 and used extensively by Crook until 1962, after which it passed through various custodians before returning to Bristol Cars in 1990 where Crook completed a previously unfinished restoration of the car before selling it on again two years later. Fast forward to 2005 and the car was treated to another refurb by Bristol Specialists Spencer Lane-Jones, along with additional work by Mitchell Motors, a summary of which can be found in the details of the ad.
The car is eligible for many historic competitions and has recently competed in notable events, including the Vernasca Silver Flag hill climb and the Southport Classic & Speed show, in addition to a successful career in the Concours world with the likes of the Royal Automobile Club, Salon Privé and Concours d’ Elegance under its belt, among others. As far as limited editions go, this Bristol 406S is up there with the rarest of the rare.
